Electrical receptacle



H. HUBBELL ELECTRICAL REcEPTAcLE Aril 6, 1943.

Filed Jan. 7. 1941 ATTORNEYS 2f IN 4 BY www Patented Apr. 6, 1943npao'rnicar. ancnrracpa Harvey Hubbell, Long Bill, Conn., assigner toHarvey Hubbell, Incorporated,

Bridrepori,

Conn., a corporation o! Connecticut Application January 7, 1941, serialNo. 313,439

l 9 Claims.

This invention relates to electric fittings, and particularly toelectrical receptacles, and has for an object to provide an improvedmeans for securing together the sections of the body of insulatingmaterial and also securing these sections to the bridge member formounting the device in a wail box of the house wiring system.

It is also an object of the invention to provide *Ymeans for securingthe body sections together which will facilitate assembly and willeliminate the use of screws and rivets for this purpose.

Another object is to provide a device in which the sections of the bodyof insulating material may be effectively and permanently securedtogether by the simple operation of forcing them together into theproper assembledl relation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view I have devised aconstruction as illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a partof this specification. It is however to be understood the device is notlimited to the specic construction and arrangement shown, but variouschanges and modifications may be employed within the scope of theinvention.

In this drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the parts assembled in positionpreparatory to the operation of forcing the sections of the bodytogether to complete the assembling operation. parts being broken awayto more clearly sh-ow the construction;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section thereof substantially on line 2-2 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the completed device;

F18. 4 is a transverse section thereof substantially on line 4-4 of Fig.3;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the lower or rear section of the body withthe bridge and electrical contacts assembled therein and with the top orfront section removed;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the top o1' front section looking toward theinner or rear side thereof;

Fig. '7 is a side elevation of the bridge member removed; and A Fig. 8is a partial plan view thereof.

The receptacle shown includes a body of insulating material comprisingtwo sections, afrcnt or upper section I0 and the lower Ior rear sectionI I, which are secured together and supported in a wall box by ametallic bridge member I2. The section II has compartments I2 arrangedin pairs in which are mounted the receptacle contacts I4. As the formshown is a duplex receptacle these contacts are arranged in two pairsand two contacts of each pair are connected by a bar Il on which aremounted means for securing lead wires to the bar. such as binding screwsII. The contacts may be of any suitable type, but those shown comprisespring fingers i1 arranged in parallel relation to engage alignedcontact blades of standard attachment plug caps and the third contact I4arranged adjacent the inner edges of the contact fingers I1 and at rightangles thereto to engage parallel contact blades of standard attachmentplug caps. The front section I0 is provided with T-shaped slots I9leading to the receptacle contacts I4 for insertion of either aligned orparallel blades of the attachment plug caps.' The compartments I2 areseparated by walls 2li of insulating material andthe section Il has inits rear or inner wall somewhat shallower compartments '2| in alignmentwith the compartments I3 to receive the upper or free ends of thecontact lingers I1 and I8. The T slots I9 lead to these compartments,and they are separated by wall 22 of insulating material.

To secure the sections I0 and II together and to mount them on thebridge member I2 the vend portions may also have spacing and locatinglugs or washers 25 connected to the -end portions by scored or weakenedportions 26 so that they may be easily broken ofi is desired.Intermediate portions of this bridge portion I2, and indicated at 2l,are bent at right` angles to the end portions 23 and have projectinglaterally from the oppositeedges thereof lugs or projections 2I and 28.These lugs or projections are provided with means for grippingthematerial of the body sections Il and II for securing the sectionstogether.v Ths gripping means may be made in different ways such asroughing or ridging to provide shoulders to grip the material of thebody to prevent withdrawal of the projections therefrom, but it ispreferred to provide a series of teeth 29 on one or both oi'r theopposite edges of the projections and these teeth are preferablyinclined on their outer sides at Il and have abrupt shoulders 3i attheir inner sides. Thus when these projections are forced into thematerial of the body sections, the inclined sides of the teeth permitthe projections to enter relatively easy. but after they enter thematerial the abrupt shoulders ll grip the material and prevent theirwithdrawal, thus effectively securing the body sections to the bridgemember and to each other.

To properly locate the bridge member and facilitate the assembly theseparating walls 2l and 22 of the body sections l0 and Il are providedwith aligned grooves I2 and respectively into which the opposite edgesof the offset portion 2l of the bridge may seat. To facilitate entranceof the lugs and projections 21 and 2l into the material of the bodysections these sections are provided with openings or recesses Il and llrespectively leading in opposite directions from thebottoms of thegrooves 32 and 33. 'I'hese openings or recesses are somewhat smallerthan the width of the lugs or projections 21 and 2l but are of a size topermit passage of these lugs into the recesses without breaking the bodysection, but are sufficiently smaller than these lugs so that after theenter the recesses the teeth 29 grip the material o prevent theirwithdrawal. There is sufiicientresiliency to permit a certain amount ofrelative yielding of the molded material and the teeth of the lugs topermit these lugs to enter the recesses and then the material springsback suiiiciently toprovide the desired gripping or locking effectbetween the teeth. and the material.

In assembling the device the electrical contacts Il connected by thebars i are inserted in the section il as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, theopposite sides of the section being provided with openings 36 openingthrough the side of the section in which the heads of the binding screwsli are located and by which they are exposed so that they may be readilymanipulated for connection of the lead wires. After the contacts are in'place the bridge member i2 is placed in position thereon as shown inFigs. 1 and 2 with the free ends of the lugs or projections 2l seated inthe entrances of the recesses 34. The entrances to these recesses andalso the recesses 35 are preferably somewhat enlarged or beveled topermit the end portions of the lugs or projections 2B and 21 to seattherein and properly locate the parts relative to each other. After thebridge member is so placed on the lower section Il the upper section i Imay be placed thereon with the ends of the projections 21 seating in theentrances to the recesses 35 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Thus the partsare all in proper alignment, and in this arrangement maybe placedbetween the die plates of a suitable press. As these die plates areforced together they force the portions Il and il together and at thesame time force the lugs or projections 21 and 2l into the recesses 3land u in the sections i0 and ii respectively. This operation brings theparts to the position shown inng. 3 bringing the opposite edges of theportions 2l of the bridge member to seat in the grooves 32 and 33. Asthe lugs or projections 21 and 2l are forced into the material of thesections Il and Il or specifically into the recesses 34 and 3l, providedto facilitate this action as above described, the teeth grip thematerial at the sides of the recesses effectively preventing withdrawalof the projections from the material and effectively securing thesections il and i I togetherl and also to the mounting bridge i2. Itwill be seen the sections are thus secured or locked together and to thebridge by the simple operation offorcing them together,

and no screws or rivetsare required and noopeningsarerequiredleadingthroughthematerialof` the section I I to therear wall thereof.

Although in the specific arrangement shown the locking or securingprojections 21 and 2l are located on the opposite edges of an offset 2t.it will be evident I am not limited to this t but that the lugs orprojections 21 and 2l may be located on and project from any portion o'fthe bridge member so long as they Project into the material of the bodysection or into such relation thereto as to interlock or grip thismaterial.

With these devices, after they are installed they are usually coveredwith a finishing wall or face plate. Buch a plate is shown at I1 and theintermediate portion of the bridge member may have a tapped opening 3lto receive the securing screw Il for fastening the face plate inposition Thisportionllisseatedinarecessliinthe inner or rear wall fsection Il and this section has an opening 42 through this wall leadingto the recess so the opening 3! is accessible.

This construction and arrangement greatly facilitates assembLv of thedevice, and as it does not require the use of screws or rivets it alsoeliminates the cost of such screws and rivets as well as the necessaryoperations when such screws and rivets are used.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention what I claim is:

1. An electrical receptacle comprising an insulating body having frontand rear sections, one of said sections having chambers for receptaclecontacts, contacts in said chambers, one

section having contact blade slots leading to said contacts, a bridgemember adapted for mounting the receptacle in a wall box and locatedbetween said sections, said sections each having recesses thereinextending in a direction away from the other section, said bridge havingmeans to secure the body sections together comprising projectionsextending forwardly and rearwardly therefrom and forced into the saidrecesses in the respective sections, and said projections having meansto grip the material of the sections to secure said sections together.

2. An electrical receptacle comprising an insulating body having frontand rear sections, one of said sections having chambers for receptaclecontacts, contacts in said chambers, one of said sections having contactblade slots leading to said contacts, a bridge member adapted formounting the receptacle in a wall box and located between said sections,and said bridge being provided with means to secure the body sectionsgether comprising projections extending into the material of therespective sections and provided with means to grip this material tosecure the sections together.

3. An electrical receptacle comprising an insulating body having frontand rear sections, one of said sections having chambers therein,receptacle contacts in said chambers, one section having contact bladeslots leading to said contacts, a bridge member adapted for moimting thereceptacle in a wall box and located between said sections, and saidbridge having means to secure the body sections together comprisingprojections extending in opposite directions therefrom and provided withshoulders engaging the material of the respective sections to secure thesections together.

4. An electrical receptacle comprising an insulating body having frontand rear sections, a bridge member adapted for mounting the receptaclein a wall box and located between said sections, one o! said sectionshaving chambers therein for receptacle contacts, contacts in saidchambers, one section having contact blade slots leadf ing to saidcontacts, said sections each having recesses therein extending in adirection away from the other section, said bridge having means tosecure the body sections together comprising projections extendingtherefrom and forced into said recesses in the respective sections, andsaid projections having teeth inclined on their outer sides to permitthe projections to be forced into the recesses and abrupt on their innersides to grip the material to prevent withdrawal of the projections fromthe recesses and thus secure the sections together.

5. An electrical receptacle comprising an insulating body having frontand rear sections, said rear section having laterally spaced chambersfor receptacle contacts, contacts in said chambers, said iront sectionhaving contact blade slots leading to said contacts, said sectionshaving on their inner walls between the chambers aligned longitudinallyextending grooves, a bridge member lncluding substantially nat portionsseated on edge in said grooves and having lugs at its opposite endsextending beyond the body for mounting the receptacle in a wall box, andprojections on said bridge extending into the body sections and havingmeans gripping the material of these sections to hold them together.

6. An electrical receptacle comprising an insulating body having frontand rear sections, said rear section having laterally spaced chambersfor receptacle contacts, contacts in said chambers, said front sectionhaving contact blade slots leading to said contacts, said sectionshaving on their inner walls between the chambers aligned longitudinallyextending grooves, a bridge member including substantially ilat portionsseated on edge in said grooves and having lugs at its opposite endsextending beyond the body for mounting the receptacle in a wall box,said sections each having recesses therein extending respectivelyforwardly and rearwardly from the bridge member, projections on saidbridge member forced into said recesses, and said projections havingteeth thereon inclined on their outer sides so they will pass into therecesses and abrupt on their inner sides to grip the material oi' thesections to prevent their withdrawal therefrom and thus hold thesections together.

'1. A bridge member for mounting an electrical receptacle in an outletbox comprising a substantially ilat strip of metal having ears at itsopposite ends for securing it in the wall box, intermediate portions ina plane at substantially right angles to the plane of said ears, andpro- `jections extending in opposite directions from the intermediateportions oi' said member adapted to be forced into the molded materialof separate sections of an insulating body and having means thereon togrip said material to hold the sections together.

8. A bridge member for mounting an electrical receptacle in an outletbox comprising a substantially fiat strip oi metal having ears at itsopposite ends i'or securing it in the wall box, and said memberincluding means to secure together separate sections of an insulatingbody comprising projections extending at substantially right an-- glesto the planes of the ears in opposite directions from portions of saidmember intermediate said ears adapted to be forced into the moldedmaterial of separate sections of an insulating body and having meansthereon to grip said materialto secure the body sections together.

9. A bridge member ior mounting an electrical receptacle in an outletbox comprising a substantially ilat strip of metal having ears at itsopposite ends for securing it in the wall box, and projections extendingin opposite directions from portions of said member intermediate saidears, and said projections having teeth inclined on their outer sides toadapt the projections to be forced into the molded material of separatesections of an insulating body and abrupt on their inner sides to gripthe material to prevent withdrawal of the projections from the materialand thus hold the sections together.

HARVEY HUBBELL.

